The State vs Oscar Pretorius (Murder 1)



Trial Day 40

Start 9:30 AM Thursday (8-7-14)

9:00AM J/Burg ----> 3:00AM ET ----> 2:00AM CT ---->1:00AM MT ---->12:00AM PT
(Times amended to include US clocks moved one hour forward)





Links for Live Streaming

telegraph.co.uk: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... trial.html

wildabouttrial: http://www.wildabouttrial.com/one_off/o ... ve-stream/

channel24.co.za: http://www.channel24.co.za/TV/News/DStv ... d-20140228

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Mirror.co.uk: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news ... es-3201648




Twitter

wildabouttrial: https://twitter.com/wildabouttrial

#pretorius https://twitter.com/search?q=%23pretorius&src=hash

Oscar Trial Channel: https://twitter.com/oscartrial199

Factual Updates https://twitter.com/OscarHardTruth

GeraldImrayAP: https://twitter.com/GeraldImrayAP

Karyn Maughan (Legal journalist at eNCA): https://twitter.com/karynmaughan



Live Blog

Mirror: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news ... es-3201648

Sky: http://news.sky.com/story/1225139/live- ... rder-trial

Guardian: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/m ... rius-trial

telegraph: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... -live.html

dailymaverick: http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/

enca.com http://www.enca.com/

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

Live Blog - Daily Mirror

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/os ... es-4014604


7:16 am
When the judge does retire, there are four possible verdicts she could return.

They are: premeditated murder, murder, culpable homicide, or not guilty.

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

8:09 am
The court in Pretoria is filling up, with the case due to get underway at 8.30am.

Reeva Steenkamp's father Barry is in court for the first time, along with her mother June.

Pistorius has also had his family present throughout much of the trial, including his sister Aimee and brother Carl.

However, Carl will be absent today after being seriously injured in a car crash over the weekend.

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

LOLOLOLOL

Nel quoting Rumpole

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

8:32 am
Nel says Pistorius' team has presented two defences - the first, that Pistorius was not in control of himself when he shot Reeva.

But if the court finds he was in control, then they say he acted in self defence.

It's two defences you can never reconcile, Nel says.

8:30 am
The judge has arrived in court, and the session is beginning.

Gerrie Nel is on his feet.

He says Rumpole of the Bailey once said: "With all due respect to your ladyship I was thinking a criminal trial is a very blunt instrument for digging out the truth."

He says this is a case where they have had to work very hard - but they will get to the truth.

8:26 am
Oscar Pistorius' father Henke is also in court for the first time today.

Pistorius has arrived, and has been talking to his defence team.

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel will present his closing speech today.

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

Nel said "We'll get to that" (twice)

DRINK

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

8:40 am
Nel says the accused fired four shots with a powerful handgun, using high performance black talon ammunition, which "ripped through [Reeva's] body".

He says there was only one survivor that night - the accused.

Nel says: "One would expect him to give an honest account, an honest version of what happened."

8:36 am
He says we will argue the accused's version of events should be rejected.

If it is rejected, it means that there was "no perceived intruder whatsoever".

If that's so, Nel says, "the objective facts are devastating".

The deceased locked herself into the toilet at 3am, with her cell phone. She was standing upright, fully clothed, when she was shot three times.

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

8:54 am
Nel moves on to talk about the defence claim about the similarity of the sounds between a cricket bat hitting a door and gunshots.

He says the evidence to try and prove this was "weak".

8:49 am
He accuses Pistorius of having "anxiety on call" - when he needs someone to accept that he's anxious, he has "anxiety on call".

He adds that the defence started out by saying that they would call witnesses to testify Pistorius' screams sound like a woman.

There was no such witness, says Nel.

8:44 am
Nel is now talking about Pistorius' evidence,

"In keeping with the profession of the accused as an athlete, he was a relay runner.

"...If you drop that baton, if you stumble and lies cause you to drop that baton, you cannot complete the race. Without the baton of truth, you cannot complete the race.

"...He was a deceitful witness.... in essence [his evidence] was absolutely devoid of any truth."

He believes he is "always the victim of circumstance", and has "refused to take responsibility", says Nel.

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

"We'll get to that"

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

9:05 am
Nel looks at Pistorius' comments during his bail application.

He says the athlete then said he fired his gun because he believed intruders were in the house.

But he later said during trial he thought intruders were coming out of the bathroom after hearing a noise, and "before I knew it" he'd fired four shots.

That's three different versions of events - but he never said it was an accident or that he did not want to shoot.

8:59 am
The prosecutor says Barry Roux put it to witnesses that if a female screamed in the toilet, they wouldn't hear it at their house.

He says their own witness contradicted that statement.

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

9:20 am
The defence says Nel "repeatedly" called Pistorius a liar. The prosecutor disputes this, referring to the court record.

Nel says the court must have a "credible" version from the accused - it must be at least "reasonably possible true".

Without that, there is no defence.

9:16 am
Nel says the accused "tailored his version" of events.

It is important to notice that nowhere in the defence heads does it say the accused was a good witness, or that the court should accept his version.

The defence says: "The ability of the accused in the witness box must have been compromised."

That is an admission he was not a good witness, says Nel.

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

Nel pulls up gown hunches shoulders..

DRINK

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

9:39 am
The accused used his phone to make calls from the bedroom and kitchen, Nel says.

The defence denies calls were made from the bedroom.

Where were they made from, then? asks Nel.

9:36 am
Nel is now talking about the bullet holes in the bathroom door.

He says there is a "good grouping" of shots, not "wild" shots.

He adds that there was "aiming" when Pistorius shot at the door.

9:24 am
Nel says it is "fashionable" for a defendant to blame the state when they can't deal with the evidence.

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

Nel pulls up gown hunches shoulders..

DRINK

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

9:46 am
The accused was an "appalling witness", says Nel.

He was "vague...responses argumentative".

His "mendacity was striking". He was "tailoring a version" and was more concerned with the implications of his answers than the truth.

"He was more concerned with defending for his life than entrusting the court with a truthful account of that morning."

9:43 am
Witness Mrs Van der Merwe says she heard a woman arguing at 1am - two hours before the shooting.

He moves on to say a security guard claimed Pistorius told him "everything is fine" after the shooting, whereas the athlete says he said "I'm fine".

Either way, Nel points out what he did not say was "help me, help me, please call the police".

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light